Serious Inquiry--Moving to Austin

[orngkat]

The thing that jumps out at me in your post is that you haven't visited in six years. As someone who has lived here thirty years, the past six have changed the entire character of the city in so many ways. It might not be the place you remember. I think the latest census cited a 20% population surge in the last ten years. Includes t a lot of newcomers like yourself looking for something that eludes them where they are. As a person with some HR responsibilities at my UT Austin job, I can tell you that any position we post brings in a flood of applicants. Hundreds sometimes. It has gotten so crazy that we just quickly look for top three - who knows what gets missed. I would not move without at least one of you having secured some sort of employment. I don't think you will feel the Austin vibe living far north near Round Rock. Mostly subdivisions, strip malls and chain stores. I would suggest staying inside the major roads that loop the city -183, Mopac, I35, Ben White/71 if you want to feel a part of the ciy.

[csandfs]

Originally Posted by gcrissman

If you have some savings to fall back on then you should be OK but there is always a risk. Then again if we didn't take risks then where would we be...

My thoughts exactly! We are actually down here in rural southwestern Virginia but have visited your area up there in NOVA many, many times! And I agree...all major changes are a risk and if you don't ever take them then you will always wish that you at least tried! That exact revelation is a real motivation factor for us...we are asking how long we can go on wanting something without actually trying to act on it. We do own a home here and are also giving consideration to renting it via a rental management agency so that we would always have access to a home here in the case that it didn't work out elsewhere.

To the person inquiring as to why people move without a job first....well, firstly, we are adventurous so it doesn't bother us too much to try. Secondly, we do have enough savings to go for a good bit of time without a job if it was necessary. Lastly, we think that it would be difficult to interview for positions when we currently are not in a position to do any face-to-face interviewing. We may do well at a phone interview but be crazy in person...they wouldn't know!

Again...thanks for the responses from each and every person...I really do find them to be helpful responses!

[csandfs]

Originally Posted by orngkat

The thing that jumps out at me in your post is that you haven't visited in six years. As someone who has lived here thirty years, the past six have changed the entire character of the city in so many ways. It might not be the place you remember. I think the latest census cited a 20% population surge in the last ten years. Includes t a lot of newcomers like yourself looking for something that eludes them where they are. As a person with some HR responsibilities at my UT Austin job, I can tell you that any position we post brings in a flood of applicants. Hundreds sometimes. It has gotten so crazy that we just quickly look for top three - who knows what gets missed. I would not move without at least one of you having secured some sort of employment. I don't think you will feel the Austin vibe living far north near Round Rock. Mostly subdivisions, strip malls and chain stores. I would suggest staying inside the major roads that loop the city -183, Mopac, I35, Ben White/71 if you want to feel a part of the ciy.

No doubt! That thought crosses my mind...a place can change a lot in a six year period! I think the bottom line for us is whether we are willing to take a risk or not. The missing part of my information in the first post also includes the fact that my husband's long term job has made some changes this year that will force him to have to switch employers. He will be looking for a job here as well pretty soon so we decided that it might be the right time to just go elsewhere and look for a job. The job market in our current area really is decent overall but it's a fairly small city (think 10x smaller than Austin) and the number of professional level jobs is minimum. Either way...thanks for your insight...it's certainly something big to think about!

[llkltk]

Originally Posted by gcrissman

I think its more common then one thinks, she stated they had money to live on for a period of time. Trust me its hard to get serious consideration when you are not in the city your trying to find a job in.

Why waste your savings? One of them should have a job before moving to Austin. Good luck renting anything without income unless you pay your one year in advance.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by llkltk

Good luck renting anything without income unless you pay your one year in advance.

We were able to rent from one of the large apartment complexes (Gables) a few years ago without having any income at the time. They just ran a credit check and wanted our income level from the previous year. For current employment they just had us put "looking for work". It didn't seem like it was a big deal at all as long as you have good/excellent credit. This was in the Arboretum area.

[gcrissman]

Originally Posted by llkltk

Why waste your savings? One of them should have a job before moving to Austin. Good luck renting anything without income unless you pay your one year in advance.

Because they have the right to since it's their savings, just like you have the right to pass judgment on someone doing something you don't think is right or you would do.

Without risk there is no reward.